


Silver Tongued

by Aiofhan



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Kinda medieval I guess, M/M, Or like early modern, Slow Burn, There will be other characters in this, also a lot of heteronormativity, also violence, oh and there's magic, there is mentions of rape but only brief
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:15:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24399352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aiofhan/pseuds/Aiofhan
Summary: Neil finds himself in a position between choosing the safety of a life on the run, or an army position which will definitely get him killed. Obviously, he chooses the latter.Alternatively, All for the Games in a fantasy setting with political intrigue and magic powers.
Relationships: Matt Boyd/Danielle "Dan" Wilds, Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Seth Gordon/Allison Reynolds
Comments: 9
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Ugh, why am I so bad at intros. Anyway, haven’t written in forever but hope it’s okay. Don’t worry I’m planning to explain the world as we go along ❤️❤️

There was something about the point before a performance that made time become fluid thing. Neil thought about it: the way hours could feel like minutes and the minutes like seconds. Truth be told, he hated preforming. Hated the way people stared at him, gave him their entire focus. Hated the anticipation before the show. Most of all he hated the way in which it reminded him of Lobain. Of fighting. Of his mother. Of his father.

Neil looked at himself in the small mirror in front of him. He was in a sparely decorated room, which was for the performers to change in. Although, there was only him and another actor currently getting ready. 

There was a screen-divider in the middle of the room that was meant to separate the women and men while changing, but, in all honesty, it left very little to the imagination. One of the other actors had once joked to Neil that it would be so easy to see all the parts of the women that they tried so hard to hide. Neil had not said anything to that, but instead hoped that one day, when he was gone, the theatre director might spare some cash to buy the women some privacy. It was them that the clients came to see after all, not the director, not the actors and certainly not Neil.

Neil thought about this, while he was smearing make-up over his face. He thought about time, the director, actors, and actresses. Anything to not look at the face before him and see those cold eyes. Anything to not image the red hair underneath the black dye.

If there were Gods like the people of Vinaly believed, then they must have laughed so hard the day they gave Neil his father’s features. 

He continued to think about this when he took off his jacket and shirt, leaving his chest only covered by a yellowing vest. Neil hoped that the other man would not notice the scars running up and down his arms, but he supposed it wouldn’t have mattered much. Adam had once said ‘everyone has a story, but no one needs to know anyone else’s’. Still it made Neil uncomfortable. The idea of others seeing the knots of his flesh. He couldn’t say which moment out of the process of being on stage was most unsettling; but this had to be one of them. So, as quickly as he could, Neil put on the custom that he had to wear. The top was made of colours that, he assumed, had once been vibrant but through years of neglect and misuse by god knows how many people, the fabric had become dirty and the colours sombre. It also had a smell of sweat and rotten eggs which Neil tried not to turn his nose up at. It was better to act indifferent to the environment around him. If he ignored it, then it would ignore him.

At least, he was able to wear his own trousers.

After stuffing his jacket and shirt into his bag and responding the other man’s smile with a slight nod, Neil left the changing room, and entered into the main area backstage. It was dirty like every other room in the building, but at least had stuffed cushions of the seats, unlike the hard chairs of the changing room. The smell was also better here, without the girls’ perfumes. Neil picked up the manuscript of the play they were preforming and started to read his section. It didn’t really matter what he was going to say, all that matter is that he knew what his key moments in the plot were. Part of him hoped that the director would regret giving him such a large role if he saw how liberally Neil took his speeches.

The story they were telling was a fairly modern Vinaly one, only 20 years old, from one of the great directors of their time. Neil understood why they choose this one. Firstly, it contained Hagishi soldier as the villain, something that was sure to please any nobility in the crowd. Secondly, both the main girl (Zeta) and her sister were feature in sexually explicit scenes; something that was sure also sure to please any nobility watching.

Neil’s part was simply: be the Hagishi soldier (Takao), attack the women, die by the sword of Vinaly. It was simple really.

“Fuck you, fuck all of you!”, said Harry, coming into the room, closely followed by the director and the director’s wife. Harry was a tall, muscly man, with unruly facial hair and a bad temper. He reminded Neil of his father. Harry, seeing Neil in the room, shouted: “Fuck if you think I’m gonna to let a runt like that take my part. I’m the better actor!”

Neil stayed quiet.

“If you think I give a damn what you think then your mamma must have given you gold for breakfast instead of oats,” the director said, flopping into onto the sofa in the corner of the room and looking worn out, “he could be the size a rat and you could be the next Angotti, it wouldn’t change the fact that he’s playin’ Takao. You’re never on time and your ego is becomin’ too big to fit in this theatre. Now, put on your costume and forget ‘bout that temper of yours. I don’t know why you cause such a fuss ‘bout playin’ the bad guy anyway, Joshua is the biggest role.” As the director spoke, the actresses started to trickle into the room, watching the commotion unfold with glee-filled eyes. Harry on the other hand, only took one look at the director, the director’s wife, and then Neil before pushing past the actresses and storming into the changing room.

“That boy,” said the director’s wife, “such a waste.” She sat down next to Neil and continued. “You know his wife, Olive, came to me, practically begged me and my Francis to stop putting him next to those girls. ‘You know how he is’, she said, ‘you know how his eye wonders’. Well, of course me and Francis do. If it’s not the girls, it’s the booze or the gamblin’. But we love Olive, so we promised not to give him the roles where he hurts those girls.” She sighed. “It’s a wonder what Olive’s father ever saw in that man. Only reason we keep him on is cause he’s family.” She looked up at that. “Now you won’t tell a soul of this will you Neil.”

“’Course not”

She patted him on the cheek, seeming to not notice his flinch. “Good boy. Now, if you don’t mind, I am supposed to narrate the moment where the carnal lust of the women overwhelms you, so, we might as well run lines together.” That was how Neil spent the hour before the play, while the actresses adjusted their clothes, Harry stood in the corner grumbling, and the director headed to the entrance to welcome people.

And then the performance started.

* * *

Neil didn’t enjoy the stage. With the attention of the audience. The only reason he took this job was that it was easy to get, it was easy money, and, at the end of the day, the attention of the audience was on the women.

He watched from the side of the stage as Zeta, (played by Angelica) and her sister (played by Gina) stumbled through a make-shift forest.

“Oh,” said Angelica, raising her arm to the sky, “Oh my lord, my great nation, please give me and my sister good fortune in our travel. For our wagon has broken, and our horses have fled, and in this forest.” She fell to the floor, “This horrid, horrid forest. Where nothing good can surely be”. Angelica, then leant forward in a way that both showed the despair of the character and her breasts tumbling out of her dress. There was jeers from the audience when it happened. It was her trick, or so the girls said, to show her breasts no matter the scene she was in.

“Oh, but what is that dear Zeta, I hear something coming through the woods,” said Gina, coming further towards the centre of the stage and with that, Neil entered onto the stage.

Angelica stepped between Neil and Gina, all the while keeping her body towards the audience, “Please help us, my lord, for we are lowly gentlewomen who happen-“

“Enough of the mouth of yours if you wish to see your family again.” Neil said stepping towards the girls and drawing his sword.

“Please sir-“

“Enough!” Neil slapped Angelica down to the floor and moved towards Gina. He grabbed her in his arms and, as she played at jerking away from him, her dress ripped open. They both paused as the deity of Lust came to narrate over the tableau of his ‘lust’.

“So, we see the image before us. The two girls, who lived a life of virtue in mortal peril from that carnal vice. For the foreign soldier had eyes on one now, but a stomach for both…”

“Sorry,” Neil mumbled to Gina.

“For what?”

“Your dress.”

Gina looked at him slightly, “I did that on purpose. There’s supposed to be some big noble man in the audience tonight. Probably here to see Ang. But I’m sick of her getting all the attention just ‘cause she has big tits and shows them off at every opportunity.”

“Oh,” Neil said dumbly.

“Face like yours. Could probably get the attention of some of ‘em if you tried. Want me to rip your shirt a bit. Little attention goes a long way. Treats and gifts and all that.”

“No, that’s okay. You focus on yourself.”

“… the only hope that the girls had from mortal sin. Was our great hero, valiant Joshua. Who travels day and night for his fair maiden. Who’s plight capture the hearts of everyone he met. Who appears to be coming just this coming!” Neil turned as Harry stormed across the stage, a sword at his side.

Neil placed Gina behind him and laughed. “A Vinalian warrior. Barely a man if you ask me.” There was booing from the audience at that. “If you wish to fight me then you must know that you will be sacrificing your head as well as your women to the Hagishu might.”

“Silence villain. Your heart is full of vices, your country is weak, and your fighting is shoddy. Give these girls safe passage or step forward to fight me.

So, Neil stepped forward and drew his sword. He was planning to fake a fight between Harry until he gained a hard whack across his ribs.

The pain ignited something in Neil. Anger rose in him and so he stepped into a fighting position that his mother would have screamed at him for. He felt an adrenaline rush that he hadn't felt in years as his body remembered the movements of combat. He parried Harry for a while, just to frustrate him at losing and then gave up the fight and fell to the floor.

It annoyed him to have to give it up so soon. 

“So, my dear Zeta is safe! Praised be the Gods.”

“Yes. Praised be the Gods, and my saviour,” said Angelica, kissing Harry on the cheek and then on the lips. “For the Hagishi nation has been stopped and so Vinaly can continue in Gloriana’s name!

With that the play ended, Neil got up, bowed and left with the other actors.

* * *

“What the fuck was that?”

“What?”

“You know what!” Neil said, storming into Harry’s face. Harry stared down at Neil, grinning. “You think it’s funny to hit me proper! Just cause your jealous you didn’t get to feel up Gina! You’re a dirty piece of shit pulling something like that.”

Harry stopped smiling then, “A runt like you should learn to watch his mouth.”

“A drunk like you should learn to not start fights.”

Then Harry’s wife was by his side, she most likely came just to walk home with him. “Sweet… please… he’s just a kid,” Harry’s wife said, looking up to him and trying to grab his cheek. “You’re better than this fight.”

Harry looked to his wife, to her pregnant belly, then to Neil. “You watch your fucking mouth, Josten.” He then turned and stormed out of the main room. His wife glared at Neil for a second, then followed her husband.

Neil grabbed his things and turned to leave as well. He was too wound up. But someone grabbed his hand.

“Look,” Gina said, holding out a folded-up piece of paper. It had a small note scribbled in neat handwriting. “The duke. He asked for my company tonight.” She leaned in conspiratorially. “Bet you anything Ang is livid. No one left her one letter.”

Neil didn’t know quite what to say. “Congratulations!” was what he ended up with.

“Oh, and I saw you and Harry.” Gina narrowed her eyes. “He’s such an ass. Always tried to grab me during performances when he knows I can’t do anything. Hope you take his roles more often. Him and Angelica can kiss their hearts away while we steal their business from under their noses.” She laughed.

“Poor wife though, married to him.” Neil said, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Gina looked moody, “His wife is a bitch anyway. Always blaming us girls for her husband’s wondering eye.” She then smiled, “Doesn’t matter anyway. I’m the one who’s meeting a duke tonight, while she’s gunna stay at home, watching her husband drink until his dick can’t get hard. It’s a wonder she even got pregnant in the first place.”

Gina had this way about talking that often left Neil with very little to say. It didn’t see to matter though, as she had decided that the conversation was over and left for the changing room.

Neil, feeling a great deal less angry, left for home.

It was a quick walk through the streets of Palmetto. When Neil first arrived, the director had offered him a place to stay sharing a room with another actor, Adam, and Neil, seeing no reason to reject had taken it. Now, he slightly wished he hadn’t. Adam snored throughout the night, and kept Neil awake with his moving around in the night. He remembered how his mother used to make his jaw spin if he kicked her when he was younger and could not image what she would have done to Adam. Neil knew a bed was a bed no matter who else was in it but sharing with another else, but his mother still made his heart pound.

He wondered when he would leave Palmetto. He liked the capital of Vinaly, with all its people, but he knew he couldn’t stay here forever. He was starting to feel twitchy and knew that he wouldn’t last much longer here. Part of him though, wonder where he could go next? Would he spend the rest of his life travelling from place to place? Is that what his mother wanted for him? His mother would probably remind him how much better it was to be free than it was to be trapped under his father’s control. How, no matter how hard travelling was, it was freedom, and safety, and protection. It was the ability to not have his powers exploited.

Neil hoped that soon he could become accustomed to living on his own. That he could become the man his mother had trained him to be.

* * *

Neil left his house early the next day. He hadn’t slept well and was itching to run somewhere. He needed to leave Palmetto soon. It had been 3 months since he’d come here, and he’d collect some money. It would be enough for him to go up north. To Kout or The Eislands. He couldn’t go any farther south than he already was otherwise his complexion would become to distinct; never mind the tan he had collected in Palmetto. His father had men everywhere after all and he didn’t want to stand out.

As Neil walked down the streets towards the market, the city was beginning to come to life. Stalls were open selling bright clothes, fresh fruit and jewelry that glistened in the early morning sun.

It reminded him of the job him and his mother had in Kout. Of travelling to and from the Lobain forest selling the wears that the villagers had made to the Koutians.

He thought his mother loved that place best of all, out of everywhere they went.

There was something satisfying about travelling back and forth between the places, meeting the same people, walking the same roads. His mother loved the fashion of the Lobain people as well. _Very practical_ , she had told Neil, _all trousers, no frilly skirts and loose shirts_. But Neil was young and had wanted to complain about the itchiness of the pants, of the ill-fitting shoes. Now he would give anything for him and his mother to be travelling those dirt roads again.

He looked at the fabrics being sold but one of the stalls at the edge of the main market square. It was all patterned and bright. Nina would have loved it. His mother would have hated it. Neil thought of how it would feel, to walk down the street in something so eye-catching. He could not understand ever wanting to be the centre of attention.

He moves slowly through each of the stalls. One selling meat. One selling fruit and vegetables. One selling rare medicine coming from the far-off shores of Kanebe. One selling trinkets. One selling spell casting. Neil looked away, towards the fountain in the centre of the square, with the Crucist church behind. Currently there were people leaving the service. It was customary for worship to begin at dawn on a Friday. 

Neil left the main street and started to walk down an alleyway which, eventually lead to the port. He had enough money on him to leave right now. To never have to worry about lines or Harry or Gina. To never come back.

Suddenly, Neil was pulled by his collar into a side street and pushed up against a wall. His eyesight blurred as the back of his head hit the wall. Then a knife pressed against his neck.

“You steal my necklace boy!” said the man holding Neil, shaking him as he did.

“What? No.”

“My son says you did.” The man pointed behind him, presumably to his son. “Says that you took one with an emerald stone in it. You know how much they cost? Think I wouldn’t notice?”

“I didn’t steal shit. You’ve got the wrong person.”

“You callin’ my son a liar! Listen here you little shit, either you give me the necklace back right now, or I see whether this knife can cut through your hand.”

Neil felt the knife under his chin, felt himself pressed up against the wall, and breathed. He looked at the man and felt the power on his tongue. “

Let me go.” The man did. “Forget about the necklace and me and go back to your stall. Take your son with you. Forget this ever happened.”

The man turned, grabbed his son’s hand, and walked back to the main square. The son looked confused but had no choice but to follow his father.

Neil sighed and slid to the floor. He hated using his powers like that. He hated using his power at all in fact. It was a reminder of who he was. Who his dad had made him. His mother would only let him use his powers when there were no other alternatives, and usually when he did, she would look at him differently for the next few days. Like he was his father.

He needed to leave.

To get out of Palmetto.

To go back to Kout or Lobain or even further North. Travel to one of the ice villages. Learn their languages. It was difficult to go to small communities. Everyone noticed a newcomer. But he needed to be away from people for a bit.

The city was stifling.

Neil picked himself up and headed to the port. He passed the houses that were stacked on top of each other. There were women hanging clothes out of top floor windows, and children playing together on the street. Playing some sort of game of catch. A few blocks down, another group of children, older this time, were huddled around a something. When Neil past he saw there was a dead rat, which the children were prodding with a stick. Then a man came out of one of the houses and shouted at the kids to help their mother at the river.

Neil thought about what he was like that age. Whether he would have been mystified by a dead animal. Probably not, Neil thought. He saw enough blood growing up that he doubted a rat would shock him. Besides, his mother had him hunting for food during the first few months after their escape. Both of them learning about killing animals, skinning them, and cooking them, from the other travellers they met.

Neil looked up to the sky, it was going to be a bright day, and as he entered the port, he saw the last group of fishermen beginning to leave for sea. The boys running back and forth fetching items while the men started to get the boats ready for sail. Women were chatting together in a group in front of the ticket stall for the ferry. Talking about some girl who had gone and got herself knocked up and how her father had tried to make the father marry her, only for him to run off somewhere south. How the girl had been crying and crying and they were planning to get her a day ticket to Columbia in order to cheer her up.

When the women had gotten their tickets, Neil went up to the man at the booth.

“Any tickets for Davenstrata?” Neil asked, it was on the South coast of Kout, but a good place to go to before travelling further North.

“One going tonight for 15 silver or one going in two-week time for 10 silver.”

“One ticket for the tonight.”

The man nodded and got the paperwork together, Neil handed the money over.

He didn’t think about how, if he’d stayed a week longer, he could have saved some money.

It wasn’t worth it.

He needed to get out of here. His gut was telling him something bad was going to happen if he stayed up longer.

“Thanks for the silver,” the man said, “see you tonight.”

Neil nodded and left.

He would go back to the house one last time. He thought about the Director and his wife. How they had given him some old clothes when he had first arrived. They said that they noticed him wearing the same outfit everyday and it was starting to stink the place up. Neil didn’t want to draw that kind of attention in another place. So, he decided that he bring a spare change of clothes along with him to Davenstrata.

Go in and out of the house, not talking to anyone. Then spend the rest of the day by the ports, watching the men leaving and returning from fishing.

* * *

So, Neil walked back to the house, through the houses, the marketplace, the square. He was lucky to not have to walk past the theatre. It meant that he would only have to deal with Adam questioning where he was going. He assumed that the actors would be put out for the night but would manage without him.

Hopefully the director would give Neil’s role to someone other than Harry. Otherwise Gina would be acting against Harry again.

Neil let himself think about them for now.

It wouldn’t matter when he boarded the ferry, and by the time he got to Kout, Neil doubted he would have the time to think or want about them.

In a few months, they wouldn’t remember Neil from any of the other actors, and Neil would have taken a new name and new identity with it.

When Neil reached the entrance to house. It was a building similar to the houses to the left and the right of it. Narrow and tall. However, unlike other houses in this area, where families or brothels lived; the building was owned by the director and was where a great majority of the actors lived. Stacked up on top of each other.

Neil noticed two men standing outside. They were wearing fancy uniform of the Palmetto militia, the smaller of the two smoking a cigarette. Neil kept his head down.

It was likely one of the neighbour kids had disrespected them in some way and they came to scare the mother into getting their child to know his place. Or they were here to see one of the whores of the area.

Neil entered the house and went quickly to his room, which was mercifully empty. He quickly packed his belongings (a spare pair of shoes, trousers, some gold that was hidden under his bed, a winter fur coat) into his satchel and then made sure that the room looked untouched. It was best that Adam didn’t notice Neil’s absence until he was on the boat. Neil gave the bedroom one last look, and then left.

“Oh Neil, I need to talk to you,” said the director’s wife, coming into the hallway where Neil was stood. There was a frown on her face which was replaced with a confused look when she noticed Neil’s full bag. “Going somewhere? You haven’t told me or Francis about this. It doesn’t matter anyway. Neil, there’s men here for you. Army men.”

Neil felt a chill go up his spine.

“I’m sorry, I need to go.” Neil said turning and rushing towards the door.

“Wait. Where are you going?” The woman said, following Neil, “Didn’t you hear me? Neil what have you got yourself involved in? Why are Army men turning up at my door?” She grabbed him. “What have you done?”

“I haven’t done anything!” Neil let out and ran out of the door. He didn’t know why the army men were here, but he could assume.

His father.

He needed to leave now. Hide in a wagon instead of getting the ferry... Escape the city somehow. By any means.

Neil rushed out of the front door but only made it a few paces before the wind was taken out of him.

He fell to the floor, struggling to find his breath. The only thing he could gasp out was a hoarse ‘Fuck you’ at whoever had done this to him.

“Andrew!” a man said.

“Neil!” said the director’s wife. Rushing over to him to hold him protectively. “Now I don’t know what Neil did but there was no need for that. You army men are all alike.” She spat at the floor.

“It was a mistake.” The tall army man said, he stood over Neil, looking as if he was questioning helping Neil up. He seemed to decide against it and instead said, “He didn’t do anything wrong. I… We saw him… Last Night.” He focused on Neil. They stared at each other for a second and then it clicked. Neil knew this man.

Neil felt like he was struck again. Looking at the Hagishu noble, here, in Palmetto. Kevin Day was how Neil had imagined him to be, grown up. A tall man, with a muscular build and thin, black hair, which was cut short and neat. He and his companion, Andrew, were wearing crisp Palmetto army uniforms, with a rifle in Andrew’s hand and a sword by Kevin’s side. Neil assumed that it was probable the metal gun which Andrew had wounded him with.

“Who taught you to fight like that,” Kevin Day continued, looking down at Neil. “You must have been taught. No one who fights like that is just a natural.”

Neil said nothing.

Kevin turned to the Director’s wife, “You didn’t choreograph the fight did you. No. Of course you didn’t. The other man was an awful fighter. And actor for that matter. Looked completely off guard.” Kevin continued, more to himself than anyone in particular. The man behind him, Andrew, crept forward, just a little, not taking his eyes off of Neil. He was a short man, with a muscular build. Him and Kevin looked odd next to each other: one tall, one short, one with neat dark hair, the other messy blonde. The only thing joining the two men together was the uniform they both sported.

Neil didn’t know who to look at. The man who had taken the breath out of Neil’s lungs. Or the man who he had not seen for 11 years but dreamt of throughout much of his childhood. His eyes settled on Kevin’s feet.

“What do you want?” Neil muttered.

“To recruit you.” Kevin spoke decisively, like Neil accepting his offer was a done deal.

“No.” Behind Neil, the Director’s Wife gasped. He didn’t care. Neil got to his feet and started to walk. The pain in his stomach was still there but it didn’t matter.

“What do you mean ‘no’?” Kevin was following him. Andrew on Neil’s other side, watching with disinterest.

“I’m not joining the army.” Neil said stopping on the street and glaring at Kevin.

“Got a passion for acting?” Andrew spoke up, his voice was smooth but slightly higher than Neil expected. When Neil turned to look at Andrew, he was looking up to the sky, staring intently at the clouds in the sky, with his gun on his shoulders. It was weird for Neil to look down on a man. He decided he liked it.

“Neil, I can offer you food, accommodation, clothes. You have a gift for sword fighting.”

“The future’s in guns anyway.” Neil said.

“Guns are unreliable. With training you could beat any shooter.” Kevin looked into Neil’s eyes. He could only imagine what he saw. Not his father. Clearly Kevin didn’t remember him. But maybe the coldness was still noticeable when gazing into Neil’s eyes. “I saw you up on that stage. Even from far away. I could see the passion for it. You are supposed to join me. I can tell.”

Neil looked to Kevin’s sword. To Andrew’s uniform. To his bag of clothes. To his hands. He looked to the sky and thought of his mother. She would hate him for wanting this.

Neil closed his eyes.

“What accommodation are we talking about?”


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil goes to Palmetto Court.

After Neil agreed to being trained by Kevin, him and Andrew decided to escort him across the city, until they arrived at a richer part of Palmetto. Kevin was in front of the group, navigating the widening streets until they entered a small square, which had a baby blue carriage in it.

Kevin led Neil to it, nodded to a man who had been waiting with a horse, and started to climb inside the box. Andrew gestured for Neil to follow and then climbed in after him.

They sat, Neil on one side, facing Andrew and Kevin on the other. The carriage was small, but due to Neil’s and Andrew’s short stature, none of the men had to be touching while in it. The seats were also cushioned, which was welcomed by Neil who could not remember the last time he had been in a vehicle so extravagant. As the man whipped the horse into action and the wagon started to navigate the cobbled ground, Neil was eternally grateful for the pillow underneath him.

The group sat in silence for most of the journey, until the Neil noticed that they were starting to leave the city centre.

“Where are we going?” Neil asked.

“Don’t talk unless spoken to.” Kevin said.

Andrew acted uninterested until this moment, staring out of the window behind Neil’s head with a blank look. But as Kevin spoke a dark grin plastered his face.

“I can’t tell Kevin, is it a disciple you wanted, or a whipping boy?” Kevin glowered at that, leaning on the frame of the carriage and turning away from both Andrew and Neil.

Neil, however, just looked at Andrew. He hadn’t noticed it when he had first met the man, but he had a slight accent when pronouncing his vowels. It was distinct from any of the Vinalian accents he had heard before, and one that he struggled to place.

“You’re not from around here,” Neil said quietly, more to himself that Andrew.

Andrew paused, frowned, then leaned forward a little, “Neither are you.” He said, sounding sure of himself. “You’re not from Palmetto or Columbia.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I have been through street of Palmetto enough times, and I have a knack for remembering faces.”

“I don’t make a habit of drawing attention to myself,” Neil countered, feeling a little uncomfortable about giving that kind of information away.

Andrew continued as if Neil hadn’t said anything, “Besides, all the actors I’ve met seem to have been blown in by the wind and leave just as easily.”

Neil leaned forward a little, “Spend a lot of time around _actors_ do you? Or is it just the actresses?”

Andrew laughed at that while Kevin looked disgusted at the thought.

“Kevin’s right,” Andrew said, “A man like you needs to be seen and not heard.”

Neil just looked out the window, as the carriage trundled on.

* * *

Eventually, they came to stately home in the wooded outer areas of the city. It had a brick wall around the perimeter of the courtyard, that had been painted white. The front was fashioned with all different types of flowers and sanded paths led to benches and gazebos. A fountain sat at the centre of the garden.

When Neil looked at it, he noticed a statue of a fox chasing a rabbit at the top of the fountain. The carriage stopped and Kevin paid both Andrew and Neil no mind as he left the vehicle.

One again, Andrew let Neil go first. Neil thought it had less to do with politeness and more s means to keep an eye on him.

As Neil jumped out of the carriage, the gravel made a satisfying sound underneath his feet. Neil breathed in the air.

It was weird for him, after living in a city for so long, to not smell some sort of odour in the air. There was no sweat, or piss or shit to smell here, just the fresh air. In the distance, Neil heard birds chirping.

He understood why the Palmetto elite would take solace in this place, rather than live in the city centre.

Kevin seemed to notice Neil looking around and smiled.

“Welcome to Foxhole Court.” He said, gesturing to the garden around him and then leading Neil up the stairs to a large wooden door that stood in contrast to the rest of the garden due to its dark colour.

Kevin walked quickly through the foyer, with Neil hurrying to keep up with him, and Andrew ambling in the rear with his hands in his pockets. He acted as if he was in no rush, but Neil noticed that he took care not to leave to much distance between himself and Kevin.

The group firstly went through a large room, then took a door of to the right, through a small hallway that twisted and turned, then up a flight of stairs.

Kevin paused, letting a couple of women walk past. They were in bright dresses that looked to Neil to be made of silk. Both of the girls blushed and bowed their head when they saw Kevin.

Neil was then led through another door, passageway with the walls bricked in stone and up a poorly lit flight of stairs which opened onto a hallway.

Neil paused when he saw where they were.

It was a hallway covered in marble, with paintings covering the walls and statues of different figures littering the right side of the passage. To the left, there were large holes in the walls, looking onto a garden at the centre of the palace. From this position he could see that the estate was made into a U-shape.

“Move,” Andrew said from behind Neil. It was almost impossible for Neil to believe that any man could look at the sight of this and not be stunned, but Andrew looked as disinterested as ever. Quickly, Neil made to catch up with Kevin.

After following this straight hallway for a few minutes, they reached the end and Kevin stopped by a large door, which was guarded by two men. He didn’t pay the soldiers any mind before entering the room. Neil kept his head on the floor and followed Kevin in quickly. Andrew closed the door behind all of them.

They had entered into a large bedroom, which had painted walls in the colour of light green, with deep red curtains. There was a large, soft looking bed in the centre of the room, and a slightly smaller one off to the side. Two white wardrobes sat on the left and the right of the room and a dresser and a full-length mirror at the far side of the wall. Next to the dresser was a door, as well as one next to either wardrobed. Kevin led Neil to the door on the right and through into a small, dark room which only had a spiral staircase. When they went up the staircase, they entered into a small room, which appeared to be shaped like the inside of a turret, with the only light coming from a small hole in the circular wall.

“This will be where you sleep,” Kevin said.

Neil looked around. It was a small room, with only a wooden bed and a washbasin in the room. The walls were stone and cold to touch. But it was still better than any room he had lived in in 8 years, and if he stood on his toes, he bet he would be able to look out the small window.

Neil turned back to Kevin, and Andrew who was just behind the taller man and said, “Thank you for letting me stay here.”

Andrew muttered, “You won’t be thanking him when you’ve spent more than a week in his company.”

Kevin smiled at Neil.

Or maybe it seemed like he was smiling at the idea of Neil. What he could become. Neil felt something turn in his stomach as he looked at the man. It felt weird for someone to look at Neil and image him as having a future.

Then the moment was gone.

“Unpack your things, then meet me and Andrew downstairs in 30 minutes.” Kevin turned and left the room. Andrew looked at Neil for a moment longer and then followed Kevin.

Neil looked around the room, then sat on the bed. It was hard, with the mattress most likely being stuffed with hay. 

Neil then turned to his belongings. A pair of cotton trousers. White, linen underwear that were slightly small on him now. A rough shirt that had smelled around the armpits no matter how hard Neil tried to wash it. The clothes that the Director’s wife had given him: a loose jacket with a green pattern stitched around the hem and a pair of trousers that were too big for Neil to wear without a string to tie it around his waist.

All of the outfits paled in comparison to the crisp army uniform.

Then, Neil turned to the parchment hidden in the pocket of cotton trousers was a small, folded piece of parchment. Neil looked at it for a second. Looked at his mother’s scruffy writing. It had symbols and drawings on it. Unrecognisable to anyone but Neil. It gave a list of people who might lend him support. Even temporarily.

Neil tried not to use it. He could never fully trust the people on it.

After carefully folding up the parchment and putting it back in the trouser pocket, Neil took the documentation out of his jacket pocket. It was the ticket for the ferry leaving tonight. Probably in about an hour now. Neil doubted he would make it, even if he left now and rushed there. He breathed out, feeling the pain as his window of escape slowly shut.

Neil would not be able to pay for another ticket.

He had made his choice anyway.

Neil took the ticket and ripped it into two pieces, trying to breath steadily as he did.

* * *

Kevin and Andrew were changed out of their uniform when Neil came downstairs. Andrew in a leather coat (which felt impractical in the Vinaly heat) and brown trousers. Kevin was in a baby blue outfit that went tight around his calves, the sleeves gushed out in such a way that Neil imaged it would be a great annoyance. He remembered when his father would sometimes make him wear loose sleeves when they had guests and how it had always been so hard to keep them out of his food.

Neil noticed that there were two other people in the room. One that looked like Andrew, who was instead dressed in a loose-fitting tunic, a belt cinching in his waist. The other man was a similar height to Kevin, with dark hair and skin. He was dressed in an outfit similar to Kevin’s, but with colours slightly faded. He also had a beauty mark placed on his left cheek, in a similar position to Kevin’s tattoo. 

The four men turned to look at Neil as he entered the room, “You’re ten minutes late,” Kevin said.

“I don’t have a watch.”

Kevin made a look of disgust, “Get one,” he said, and then frowned, “How did you know what time you had get to the theatre?”

“He’s an actor?” said the tall man, looking at Neil with interest. Neil noted that he had a strong East Eislanic accent.

Neil choose to ignore the man and answer Kevin. “When the sun got about three quarters of the way through the sky, I knew I needed to go to work.” He’d only remembered seeing a watch three times: twice it was his father’s and once it was a nobleman that he’d seen travelling through Kout.

Kevin sighed, “I’ll get you a pocket watch. Do you know how to read the time?”

“I know how to read the big clock at the centre of Palmetto. Is it the same concept?”

Kevin nodded. Then turned as if to walk out of the room but the taller man made to stop him.

“Don’t we at least get to introduce ourselves to him? I bet you haven’t even given him a tour of the apartment. He needs to know where things are.”

Kevin rolled his eyes, “Be quick,” he said and flopped on the larger bed.

The tall man turned to Neil, “And you are…”

“Neil.”

“Neil, Nicky,” He said pointing to himself, then to the other man, “Aaron. Come with me.” He moved on the opposite side of the room to the entrance to Neil’s room. In it there was a large bath. Towels and oils dotted the perimeter and there was another entrance to the room on the opposite wall.

Nicky took him to a product, “Smell this.”

It smelt horrible.

“Great right?”

Neil nodded.

“I’m wearing it right now,” Nicky leaned in for Neil to smell him, and, true enough, the scent was faintly on the man. “You can use it anytime you want.”

Neil doubted he would ever use the oil.

Then Nicky led Neil through the other door. Inside was a bedroom similar to Andrew’s and Kevin’s. “This is mine and Aaron’s room. It’s great, isn’t it.” He pointed to a bed with a marron sheet on it, “That’s my bed. Just for reference.”

“Okay.”

Nicky frowned, then rolled his eyes. “Let’s see what Kevin had in store for you.” He then led Neil back to Kevin’s room.

“Done,” Kevin asked, “Good.”

With that he took off out the front door. Neil assumed that it was his job to follow him. So, there they went, Kevin leading the way, with Neil trailing along behind him, Andrew watching the two converse and Nicky and Aaron bring up the rear.

“Now Neil,” Kevin continued as they walked back down the long hallway, “I need to know what you know?”

“About what?”

“Do you know how to write?”

Neil thought for a second, “No… but I know how to read.”

“That’s fine, I’ll teach the basic words and from that we can send messages to each other. What about politics? Know anything about politics?”

Neil thought for a second. Truth be told he _did_ know very little about current affairs. He decided to say, “I know that we hate the Hagishu.”

Kevin, about to open a door paused for a second. “Who told you that?”

“The sailors that come here… and the plays that we perform. The villian’s always from Hagishu.”

“You have to tell me more about your acting,” said Nicky. “Was it a passion of yours? Will you do a rendition of any Aifric MacCoughlan’s later works would be amazing. What about The Tragedy of Prince Hamid? Allison loves that play.”

Neil stared at him, “I don’t know who either of those people are.”

“Obviously he doesn’t, Nicky,” said the Aaron. He like Nicky had a strong Eislanic accent. “You think some actor in a shithole theatre knows any plays which don’t end in a violent orgy.”

Neil didn’t think he’d been in a play quite that graphic, but he chose to remain silent. Kevin on the other hand sighed and opened the door.

The entered into a room with its walls almost entirely lined with books. The shelves on which they sat were occasionally broken by brown leather chairs. In centre of the room was a table. Kevin walked to one end of the room, took a large scroll, and then spread it out on the centre of the table.

“Do you know what this shows?” Kevin asked Neil.

Neil looked down at the parchment. He did know what was on the page, but _Neil Josten_ wouldn’t so he looked blankly at Kevin and said, “No.”

Kevin nodded as if he thought as much, “This is a map of the known world.” He pointed at an area to the East of the map, “This is Vinaly,” He then pointed to a landmass jutting out of the country, “This is Palmetto.”

Nicky came to stand near to where Neil was. He pointed to the North West of the map and said, “This is the Eislands. Me, Aaron and Andrew are from here. Our family’s from,” He pointed to the right of a river that ran through the middle of the Eislands, “just here, just outside Assoix.”

Neil looked surprised at that, “You guys grew up together.”

Nicky replied, “Me and,” He gestured to the twins who stood slightly back from the table, “Aaron and Andrew are cousins. You wouldn’t think it though right. No one thinks me, Aaron and Andrew are related.” He leaned in close to Neil, “Didn’t get my looks, did they?”

Neil ignored him and instead turned to Kevin, “Why are you showing me this? Knowing where Assoix is will never help me in a fight.”

“You think I want you to be just a fighter.” Kevin asked, “Neil, I want you to join my elite forces. I want you to know, not just fighting but manoeuvring. I want you to think about a battle and how to win it. I want you to know your enemy. Not just swing a sword.”

“Why me?”

Kevin narrowed his eyes, “Because you’re smarter than you let on.” He said simply.

Neil felt a chill run through his body at that. He turned to the map feeling the eyes of the others on him.

“Show me Davernstrata.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me so long and is quite short. It would have been longer but I wrote myself into a corner and could only undo it by splitting the chapter into two.
> 
> With everything going on, I hope everyone is okay and staying safe.


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil starts his training with Kevin.

Over the first few days of his training with Kevin, Neil found a new appreciation for a great deal of things, but on the top of his list were two people:

  1. Auntie Katherine from Carlow
  2. Luke Ridley, his father’s squire when Neil had been aged 8 to 10



Neil remember meeting Auntie Katherine in the North East Kout town of Carlow when he had been named Stephan. Carlow was, to put it lightly, a shithole. Katherine had been an old woman, that had taken a liking to Stephan and had sometimes fed him these sweet berries which she said she picked in the woods. Stephan’s mother would never let him join Auntie on her walks. But that didn’t stop a friendship blossoming between Auntie Katherine and Stephan, as well as Katherine’s teenaged granddaughter, Shauna.

‘Granny named me after my dad,’ Shauna once told Stephan, while they were fetching water by the village river, she frowned after saying that. Later she told Stephan that her dad had lost it after her mother had died in childbirth, ‘’pparently he walked down the road leadin’ out of the village ‘n’ never came back. Broke Granny’s heart apparently. Only survived the winter to protect me’.

When Neil asked why Auntie Katherine didn’t go after him Shauna just laughed, ‘it’s weird for people born here to leave. ‘said that Goddess Aithne will make your feet rot off.’ It was then that Neil realised, no matter how bad the conditions got in Carlow, during the 80 years of Katherine’s life, she stayed walking the same snow trodden roads.

Neil couldn’t image staying anywhere that long. The itch to leave the city travelled with him everywhere he went over the first week of his new life. He could not imagine being so scared of a God that he would never leave his hometown.

Luke, on the other hand, gained an appreciation from Neil, because no matter what his father threw at him, Luke remained as the Butcher’s squire. Neil could not fathom that, after a just a few days of dealing with Kevin’s attitude, running after his every whim, and listening to every criticism that the man threw at him. He had bitten his tongue so many times he thought it might fall off at any time.

He was struggling to understand how Andrew, Nicky and Aaron could stand to spend so much time around the man without getting sent to prison for assaulting a blue blood.

Kevin was a rare form of both inspiring and annoying.

* * *

Over his first week, Neil got to understand the routine of the castle.

When the moon began to set, it would be Neil’s job to wake up. He would wash himself in his room and he would try to see if his roots were showing but would struggle in the darkness of his room. After giving up on that he would get dressed. Kevin had said that he would give Neil new clothes once he managed to hold his own in a fight. For the mean time he was left changing into his fraying outfits.

After he had finished getting ready, he would creep down the stone stairs into Kevin and Andrew’s room. Kevin would be snoring, but Neil always thought Andrew was awake. He could feel his eyes on him as a crept out of the room.

Neil would then go to the armoury, which was situated on the other side of the courtyard. A small wooden hut that was closely guarded at all times. Neil was usually the first to arrive and would beginning with the early morning sun lighting his work as he began to clean swords and guns for the day’s use. Neil took care cleaning Kevin’s and Andrew’s swords and always felt the longing in his heart to get his own. Kevin had yet to let him fight with anything but a wooden sword.

The rifles were less interesting to clean. Andrew rarely used his and Neil did not know if Kevin would stoop to long-distance combat. Whether he had ever shot his gun. In any case, Neil would make sure that any debris in the rifles was gone and that they were prepped for any eventuality.

By this point the sun had risen and Neil would feel the crisp morning breeze as he walked through the courtyard and towards the kitchen. He used this time to observe the other people up. Many of them were servants, coming to and through on the whims of their masters. Neil supposed he was the same.

When he made it to the kitchen, the cook, Jamie, would say something like, ‘Neil, forget to brush your hair this morning’, or ‘Neil, you should eat more. My daughters could beat a stick like you in a fight’, or on good days simply grunt, ‘Neil’.

Jamie would always have everyone’s food made by the time that Neil got to him. Porridge for Neil, Kevin, Nicky and Aaron; cold meats for Nicky and Aaron; whatever an assortment of honey cakes for Andrew.

Neil would take everyone’s food to them on a tray, and, by this point Kevin was up. They would eat on a polished table in Nicky and Aaron’s room.

The first day Neil had not known if he was supposed to eat with Kevin, or on his own. His father would never let his servants eat with him. They would be forced to wait until the Wesninskis had all finished before they could eat anything. Neil sometimes thought that his father took a long time just to see the hunger on his servants faces.

Kevin was not like his father. He had told Neil to sit down and started the routine of questioning him on politics at every meal they had together.

“Who is the leader of The Eislands?”

“Different families rule the different areas. The closest the Eisland has to a ruler is His Gracious Tobith Althaus.”

“Who is he?”

“He is the image of the Eisland God.”

“No,” Nicky would say, because he knew more about Eisland than any book could tell Kevin, “He is the descendant of the Althaus. The people who are in connection to God.”

This was how there day would start. The first time that Kevin had questioned him on Yogoto, Neil had forced every part of his body not to flinch. It had been on the third morning Neil had been with them. They had just started eating when Kevin asked:

“Who is the leader of The Yogoto Nation?”

Neil had to force the words out, “No one. It’s ruled by a Congressional body.”

Kevin had paused but Neil couldn’t bring himself to look at the man’s face. “Correct. But Yogoto’s Congress is weak. You are better to know of the different tribes. The Wesninski,” Neil stared at his spoon, “The Fodor, The Hartfords. Start on them. Learn how they came to have power, what powers they have, and what relation they have to the people around them.”

Neil couldn’t understand why Kevin thought learning about Yogoto was worth his time. The people of Yogoto hated everyone and everyone hated Yogoto.

He couldn’t help himself.

“The Yogoto are bad people.” He felt Andrew’s eyes burning into him on the other side of the table, but he ignored him. “They believe that they are Earth’s favourites because they…”

“They are Earth’s favourites.” Kevin said, not looking at him. “If you ever meet a powerful Yogoto. Ever see them use their abilities. All that Vinaly thinking will fall out of you and you will pledge your life to them, I guarantee you that.”

“So then, what’s the point of this?” Neil gestured around. “Of all this. Of training me.”

“He wants you to be there to use as a shield,” Andrew said, moodily. Neil didn’t think he much liked the mornings. Neither did Nicky, who was always uncharacteristically quiet. Neil doubted he was even following the conversation happening.

Kevin gave Andrew a bored look and then turned to Neil, “The leaders of each tribe and their descendants have powers. But it can only be passed through the paternal line. Anyone who has a power has the ability to challenge a leader for his rule. So, many leaders will only have one or two children, who they groom to take up their place once they are dead, rather than deal with threats from all around.” Kevin took a sip of his ale. “Of course, this isn’t universal, but the families with the big powers. They wouldn’t want those ability going to anyone that they could not control. Put simply, powerful Yogotos are rare enough for you to not worry about.”

* * *

After breakfast, they would all go to the courtyard to train. Kevin would usually pull Neil to one side while Aaron and Nicky practiced together, and Andrew sat under the shade of an ash tree in between the two groups.

Kevin would shout warm-ups to Neil at the beginning of each day. It would usually end up being things like running to and from opposite walls while carrying heavy bags and Lifting anything Kevin set his mind to. Then they would fight, similar to how Nicky and Aaron trained but with wooden swords. Kevin would shout commands at Neil as they did.

“Parry!”

“Lunge”

“Riposte. No.” When Kevin said ‘no’, Neil knew to expect a jab in his stomach from Kevin’s sword. “Not like that. Your timing was off. Do it again but this time put effort in it.”

Neil after a while began to notice inconsistencies in Kevin’s fighting style. He would often flinch while switching his sword in between his left and his right hand, favouring his right but also being unable to use it for that long. Neil didn’t have to think hard to know what was happening.

Kevin was hurt. Badly.

Neil didn’t bring it up immediately, however. Instead thinking it wasn’t his place to say anything, but dearly hoped Kevin wouldn’t hurt himself to the point where it would be unable to train anymore.

Neil and Kevin would continue sparring for what felt like hours during the mornings. The sun would beat down on Neil’s neck and sweat would drip all over but with the adrenaline pumping through him, he could barely feel his burning.

But it couldn’t last, and Andrew would call out ‘Kevin enough’, and Kevin would grunt, step back, and tell Neil, ‘You need to continue working’. They would then join the others.

Servants would come the moment Kevin and Neil sat down, bringing fruits and juices, breads and ales. There under Andrew’s oak tree, they would all eat, watching as the castle life raged on around them.

Neil, on the second or third day of training, asked the group why no one else trained with them. “After all, there has to be other soldiers here. Why do they not train with us?”

Nicky had laughed at him, “Oh Neil. The other recruits in the area train under the Guards, not Kevin. He only teaches people who he thinks will be of use to him.” He then got a sly smile on his face. “It’s always a treat when the guards come by. Arms the size of your head, if you’re into that sort of thing.”

“Nicky,” Andrew warned.

“What? Look at the boy.” Nicky said, pointing at Neil, “With a face like that he should enjoy himself.” They often talked like that, Neil found, like he wasn’t even there.

Aaron choose this point to chime in, “Doubt he’s into the same deviancies that you’re into.”

“Why not? He’s an actor after all.” Nicky turned to Neil then. “You’re from Davernstrata right. Apparently, they’re like Lobain people up there. Letting people live with who they want and all that.”

“The Koutians’ mind their own business.” Neil said simply and then narrowed his eyes. “What makes you think I’m from Davernstrata.”

Nicky looked sheepish, “Andrew said… that your clothes were from Kout… and you had a torn-up ticket to Davernstrata.”

Neil felt rage bubble in his stomach, getting to his feet he rounded on Andrew. “You went through my things did you! Think that you can look through whatever you want because others bend over backwards acting like you’re something unstable! Want to know what I think about you?”

“Not really. No.”

Kevin put a hand on Neil’s chest, “Neil, sit down. We needed to know you were safe.”

“And what did you find? I’ve put everything in my life on hold to be here and you think it’s okay to go through my things.” Kevin pressed harder on Neil’s chest. “Get your hands off me or I swear to god I’ll…”

Before Neil new anything, Andrew was standing close to him, pressing a knife to his throat while a hand held tight around his neck.

“You’ll what?” Andrew whispered.

Neil would never admit it. Not to anyone. But at that moment, he felt scared. Not so much of Andrew, but more of the knife. It was an involuntary reaction to an object that had already hurt him too much. So, Neil look at the man and kept his mouth shut.

Eventually, a flip switched in Andrew’s brain and he retreated. At which point Neil turned to leave. He made it about 10 metres between Kevin called out:

“Go now and I swear to God, you won’t be able to come back.”

Neil bit his tongue. Then he turned back around, sat back down, and continued the rest of the day not saying a word to the others.

* * *

Neil knew that he had to get some sort of relationship with Andrew. He knew that, if he were to stay here, then he would need to gain the trust of the man. He also knew that, if Andrew started to trust him, there was also a chance that he would start to train with Neil and Kevin. Neil wanted to understand what Kevin saw in the short man that allowed Andrew to have so much power.

So, he came up with a plan.

The day after the knife incident started out like any other. Neil got up, washed and dressed. When he went down into Kevin and Andrew’s room however, he turned to the smaller bed and looked to Andrew. Neil could see through the darkness brown eyes staring back at him.

Neil made a gesture to Andrew to follow him and then turned to leave the cambers. He waited outside for a few minutes before the door opened again.

Andrew was dressed in a long shirt that fell just below his hips, under them was a bare of tight cotton pants. Neil, thought briefly about how this was the most casual outfit that he had seen Andrew in. He thought it would have humanised him, but it seemed Andrew’s imposing atmosphere came whatever he wore.

Neil walked until they were out of earshot of the guards. He could hear Andrew’s footsteps on the marble floor as he followed. Neil then turned to Andrew and said, “Why do you not practice with us?”

It was not the question that Neil had had planned, but it was one that he was desperate to know.

Andrew looked at him for a second, then turned to stare out the window, “Why would I?”

“You must be a good fighter for Kevin to think so highly of you. It would benefit all of us to train with you.”

“Why do I care if I become better at sword fighting?”

“You don’t seem to practice at shooting either, but Kevin says you’re could be the best shot there is. Put your skills to use and you know… I don’t know…” Neil thought for a second, “you could be remembered for something.”

Andrew turned to stare back at him, “Is that what you want? To be remembered?”

“Do you not want to?”

“Not really.”

Neil was silent for a moment, “I don’t think I care about it either… There’s just a part of me that wants to be the best fighter I can be. To reach the potential that Kevin sees.” A part of Neil that he had made vulnerable to Andrew. It was an unsettling feeling.

Andrew didn’t say anything to that, so Neil changed the conversation.

“Why did you go through my things?”

“Your stories say one thing and you say another.”

“So, you think I’m lying. About what?”

“I think you don’t know the meaning of the word ‘truth’.”

“Do you know anything else about me?” Neil said, smiling a little.

Andrew shook his head and then started to walk towards the window, staring out onto the courtyard. Neil followed him. The sun hadn’t risen yet and already the palace had started to awaken, with servants running to and through along the drew covered grass below.

Neil turned to Andrew.

“If you hate fighting so much and aren’t doing it for the glory. Why are you here?”

Andrew looked to Neil. They were about half a metre away from each other, but Neil felt like they were much closer.

After a while Andrew replied, “If you want to know, come out with me Friday night?”

Neil was surprised by this, “Where are you going?” He asked.

“Me and the others like to go to Columbia on the weekends. We have a house there and Kevin has enough money to afford a ferry. You come with us on Friday and I will answer one of your questions.”

“And if I don’t,” Neil asked, knowing he was going to go.

“Then I will keep trying to figure you out and you will keep getting annoyed at it.” He looked at his fingers, “If I think you are a threat to Kevin, I won’t hesitate to stop you from being a problem.”

“And this night out will prove I’m trustworthy.”

Andrew shrugged, “I doubt anyone has ever trusted you, but I could be the first to.”

Neil smiled, “Okay, I’ll come with you Friday.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm finding it easier to write shorter chapters rather than longer ones. Also hoping that the others will be introduced next chapter, but I could be wrong.
> 
> Anyway hope you guys are safe x


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil meets some new people and gets to know the Court a little better

On Neil’s sixth day at the Foxhole Court, and with one day to go until Andrew took him to Columbia, Neil met Allison Reynolds.

He had been in the front garden as the sun was setting with a book on the history of Vinaly that Kevin had told him to read. Neil knew it was unlikely for Kevin and Andrew to come find him out here, but he still sat on a bench which kept him out of view of the front entrance.

He heard Allison before he saw her, with the clip-clop of her shoes on the gravel alerting Neil to her approach. When he looked up, he couldn’t have been more surprised as to who he saw.

Allison was the type of beautiful that was contained to nobility. Neil supposed the perfect description was a mix of ethereal and untouchable. She had the face of someone who could dedicate her entire life to her looks and gloss of her hair told Neil that it was probably a worthy endeavour.

Her hair was styled in a smooth updo, with flowers exaggerating the golden sleek of it. Her pink dress appeared to be made of the finest silk and pulled in her waist while accenting her hips. Although she moved with ease in her dress, Neil didn’t doubt that it was highly impractical. He tried to image his mother in an outfit like that, but the idea was ridiculous. He knew that people spent a lot of time on their appearance, but it was something that was trained out of him at a young age.

Allison, upon noticing Neil staring at her, looked taken aback for a second, but quickly schooled her face into a smile and came to sit next to him. Her dress took up much of the bench and meant that Neil had to sit slightly off his seat in order to maintain a respectable distance between the two of them.

They sat like that, Neil still trying to read his book and Allison looking at the flowers in front of them until Allison turned to stare at him.

“I know why I haven’t seen you before. You’re that actor that Kevin took a liking to.” She paused for a second, turning to him fully and putting her elbows on her knees to lean on. “You’re name’s Noah... no, wait… Nathaniel or Nelson.” Her smile held a wily nature that reminded him of Andrew.

“It’s Neil.”

“That’s it,” Allison pursed her lips at Neil, looked him up and down for a second and then frowned, “Does Kevin always keep you looking so… rugged?”

“He does it to make himself look better when he’s next to me.”

Allison laughed, “Nicky didn’t say you were funny. It’s such a shame you spend so much time with that lot.” A faint look of disgust passed over her face and she leaned slightly forward, “Is it true that Andrew sleeps with knives on him?”

“Probably.”

Allison sighed, “You would think that coming to a palace would make them gain some manners. The King has such a soft spot for them I swear.”

“He’s a good fighter.” Neil felt weird defending Andrew.

“I suppose. But it doesn’t matter how good at shooting he is if he refuses to fire at the enemy.” Allison then studied Neil’s face for a second, “Come to my chamber tonight. I have some friends coming over that you should meet.” She stood up and Neil followed her, intrigued.

“Why?”

“It’s not good to spend so much time with those… monsters. It’ll turn you into being like them.”

“Would that be such a bad thing? Kevin is a good soldier.”

Allison turned to the flowers and sighed, “There’s more to life than fighting. Besides, Kevin’s method of teaching is not the only one.” She leant down to the plants and plucked a small, pure white flower. “What’s the point of being able to wave a sword when half the men on your side want to stab you in the back.”

“And do you,” Neil asked, “Want to stab Kevin in the back? Because I would like to know now if my position as his prodigy has an expiration date.”

Allison smiled and turned to him. Then she did something quite unexpected and tucked the flower behind Neil’s ear. Neil stood frozen as he felt the softness of her fingers.

“The colour suits you.” Allison murmured quietly, “Brings out your eyes.”

Those words felt like an ice bath, but Allison didn’t wait for Neil’s response and instead continued, “No Neil. I am not planning to betray Kevin. But I think it would be of both the benefit of Kevin and the country as a whole if he engaged with the nobility more often. Just because the king has a sweet spot for him does not mean the people do.” She smiled at him. “So, are you going to help me tonight? Let’s say 8 o’clock.”

Neil thought for a second and then smiled at her, “And how am I expected to find your rooms?”

Allison returned his smile, “Ask any of the guards. I’m sure they can help.”

* * *

Neil did not end up asking guards, but instead went to Nicky.

“Why do you want to know about Allison?” Nicky asked him in return. They were sat in Nicky’s and Aaron’s room, where Neil had found Nicky hunched over a desk writing a letter. He had yet to see the others but could only assumed Kevin and Andrew were somewhere together.

“She asked me to come to her room tonight.” Neil said, sitting at the table in the centre of the room, taking an apple from the fruit bowl as he did. “You mention her sometimes so I thought you could tell me some more about her.”

Nicky looked at Neil like he was stupid, “She asked you to come to her room tonight? Neil, you’re an upstart, that's what you are.” Nicky laughed, “Allison comes from the Reynold family. You get friendly with her and you’re set for life. Actually, come to think of it you better make her happy tonight. Her family holds most of the land to the North. I can’t be blacklisted from buying from their subjects because you’re bad in bed.”

“I’m not going to have sex with her. She invited me to meet some of her friends.”

Nicky didn’t seem to be very interested in that, “Is that why you have that flower Neil? Did Allison give that to you? You know I never knew her to be a romantic.”

“Okay, different question: Why does Andrew have a different accent from both you and Aaron?”

Nicky stopped smiling and turned back to his letter, he spoke softly. “Neil… I don’t… It’s not… Okay, we didn’t grow up together. That’s all I can really tell you. If you want to know more asked Andrew.”

Nicky closed his eyes for a moment, then turned back to Neil. “Hey, if you’re from Davernstrata that means you met some of the Lobain people right. They come there often to sell things.”

Neil nodded.

“Do you speak any of their language?” Nicky looked bashful. “There’s this Lobain man, Erik. I thought… It would be nice if I tried to speak some of his language, right? He’s so good at speaking Eislandic.”

Neil did know some Lobain dialects, but he wasn’t about to let Nicky know all of that, “What part of the forest is he from? I know basic trading words but that’s only with the Eastern tribes. The ones to the West of Lobain speak a different language but I never leant any as they would only travel to Davernstrata in the winters.”

Neil hadn’t spent long with any of the Western tribes, but from the time he’d spent with a central tribe, he had learnt of the craftsmanship of the Westerners. He also knew that they spent a lot of their time trading with the Eislands.

Nicky sighed as Neil started to stand, “Thanks for your help anyway. And live a little tonight. Just because Andrew and Kevin are so tense doesn’t mean you have to be… You know, my offers still around if you ever want to try something new.”

Neil doubted he would, “Thanks Nicky, I’ll bear that in mind.”

* * *

Neil made it to Allison’s at 8:05 in the end. (He was still getting used to the strict time which the Court ran on, although the watch that he had brought had made it a great deal easier.) Allison swung open her door on Neil’s second knock, smiling at him as she did.

“You came. We were worried that you were going to put off by the rain.” Allison said, pulling Neil into her chambers. There were candles everywhere lighting up the room, which was similar to Kevin’s and Andrew’s, but with one bed at the centre of the room instead of two. Already there was a dark-skinned man and woman sitting on the marble floor holding a glass each and a short woman sitting on the bed facing them.

“The rain?” said Neil, “I think I missed it.”

“Neil, right?” Said the man, standing to embrace Neil, and then gesturing to each of the women. “That’s Dan and there’s Renee on the bed.” He smiled at Neil. “Ever since we heard of Kevin’s new trainee, we’ve been dying to meet him. You know, you’ve been quite the talk of the Court, I’m sure the King will want to meet you when he returns.”

“Where is he at the moment?” Asked Neil, sitting on a cushion next to Matt.

“Oh, down South, staying with some nobleman or another.” Said Allison, she went to a table and poured her a glass of some red liquid, “Wine, Neil?”

“No, thank you.”

“Oh, one won’t hurt. I’m sure you need it after spending all your time with those monsters.”

“Allison…” Renee said softly. Neil looked to her. She had an accent that he couldn’t quite place, different to Andrew’s or any of the other people in Palmetto. Harsher somehow.

As Neil was staring at Renee, she turned to look at him. He quickly looked away and felt a flush rise on his cheeks.

“Oh fine, take his side Re’.” Said Allison, coming to sit next to Renee on the bed. She leant back on one arm and surveyed Neil again. “I didn’t think you’d come.”

“Yes, you did. Or you wouldn’t have invited me,” Neil replied matter-of-factly.

Allison laughed, “You're right. I knew you’d come.”

“How long have you known Kevin?” Dan asked leaning forward.

“Only a few days.”

“What do you think?”

“He’s a genius,” Neil said honestly, “but he can be insufferable.”

“I’ll drink to that,” said Matt, lifting his glass. “You know, once I was practicing my archery and he said that ‘I held my bow wrong’, that I would do better if I used a Hagishu technique.” Matt rolled his eyes.

“What did you respond?”

“Nothing, there’s no point fighting Kevin on his love for that country. But their fighting style isn’t better than ours, just different. Don’t let Kevin make you forget that.”

“Are you a soldier too?”

Dan laughed at that, “The closest you’ll see Matt get to a battlefield is starting a fight in a Columbian Marketplace.”

“I’m from Mora, just on the Eastern Coast. My mother’s the mistress of the Boyd estate.” Neil remember the Southern county from his geography lessons with Kevin. He also remembered that the Boyd made a fortune off their monopoly on the sweet wine industry. Neil didn’t know who would have more money, Matt or Allison.

Kevin, if he had any sense, would spend more time with these people and less with Andrew.

“So, Neil,” Renee said, smiling down at him, “I heard that you were an actor. It must be quite a change of scenery to come here? I hope Andrew and Kevin have been accommodating.” Dan smiled into her wine glass.

Neil was about to answer when the door to Allison’s room swung open and a tall man came in. He was wearing a soldier uniform, a sword on his hip and a frown on his side. He was also dripping from head to toe.

“Seth?” Allison stood to her feet and walked towards the man, Seth, as he stumbled into the room, “No don’t come further in. You’re soaking! No, don’t you dare go on the rug. I swear…”

“Or what All’,” Seth slurred his words and Allison stepped away from him, looking mildly disgusted. “Why wasn’t I invited to this? What is _this_? Who is _that_?”

“Neil,” Allison said haughtily, coming to sit down behind Neil and putting her arm around him. “He’s Kevin’s new protégé. We were getting to know him before you interrupted. He was going to tell us about his time as an _actor_. Neil,” she shuffled closer and looked to him, “You must have been just darling on the stage.”

“I-“

“Yeah, I bet he made all the girls wet their frocks,” Seth said, leaning against Allison’s dresser.

Allison glared at him, “Seth, you’re drunk.”

“I went out with some of the guys. Is that a crime?”

“No, but it _is_ a crime to come into a noblewoman’s chambers without her permission.”

“I think we should go,” Dan said, grabbing Matt’s arm and starting to her feet.

“No,” Allison moved to Seth and pushed him towards the bathroom door. “God, you’re wet. Sorry about this Neil, won’t be a second. Just need to talk to _him_ alone.”

Neil watched as the two went into the bathroom, Allison muttering as she dragged Seth.

“That’s Seth,” Matt whispered to Neil, “Allison’s man.”

“She doesn’t seem too happy with him.”

“She rarely is,” Dan said under her breath.

Matt smiled to her and turned to Neil, “He’s a soldier. Good one, I think, but him and Kevin could never get along. Would keep that you and Kevin are buddy quiet from Seth, or he’ll be out for your blood.”

“Why don’t they get along?”

“Elitism probably,” replied Matt.

“I don’t know,” Dan looked thoughtful, “I mean it could be. But he never had the same problems with me, and I come from a similar background to Seth. Anyway, the monsters are nearly feral, and he manages with them.” She started to talk louder to muffle out Allison and Seth’s voices coming from the bathroom.

Neil thought about where Kevin had found him and thought there had to be more to it than simple elitism.

“Is that why you don’t try harder with Kevin?” asked Neil, “Because of Andrew.”

Dan sighed, “Kevin might not be elitist but from the way he acts around us you wouldn’t know either way. He left Hagishu to come here. Left all of his life, everyone he knows. How could you just do that? And yet, he still thinks that Hagishu is the greater state. I doubt he’d still be here without Andrew. Do you know how they met?”

Neil shook his head. He didn’t know much about either man.

“Andrew was a soldier here. He’d been recruited by some lord that was travelling through an island off the coast of the Eislands. Anyway, Andrew was out in the courtyard practicing when Kevin saw him. I remember he just stopped dead when he was Andrew’s skills. Then, he marched right up to Andrew and asked him where he learnt to fight. Andrew looked him right in the eyes and asked why he wanted to know. I don’t know much of what happened, but I remember that Andrew ignored him for days, and that Kevin hounded him, said that Andrew’s skills must be a sign from the Lord that he was in the right place.”

“I didn’t know Kevin was religious.”

“I think Andrew’s technique made him spiritual. Anyway, one day Andrew stopped fighting and joined Kevin. Now they do everything together.”

“But what changed?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Dan replied and then rolled her eyes. “We should definitely leave. I haven’t heard Seth or Allison say anything for a while now, so I think they’ve made up.”

Matt grimaced, “Yeah, I think we should be gone when they come out.”

They all got to their feet and when they were outside Renee turned to Neil.

“You live above Andrew’s room right. My room is on the way. We can walk together if you want.”

Neil nodded and they waved goodbye to Matt and Dan who were going in the other direction.

Renee and Neil walked in silence for the most part, with Renee sometimes showing Neil interesting parts of the palace:

“This sculpture was made by the late Luisa Armando, one of the greatest artists that Palmetto has ever raised.”

“That over there was said that this was Queen Isabella favourite spot.”

“We all love to sit on that bench down there. You should join us?”

Neil simply muttered short responses.

“Well,” Renee stopped beside a door about 100 metres away from Kevin’s, “this is my room. It was so nice to meet you Neil. I look forward to talking to you again.”

Neil couldn’t say he returned the feelings but waited for her to go into her chambers none-the-less.

As he was walking towards Kevin and Andrew’s room, he saw an extra figure waiting outside the door, slightly apart from the guards.

Neil thought he knew who it was and started up to the shorter man.

“So, the little rabbit returns to his hole,” smiled Andrew when Neil came to stand in front of him.

“I’m flattered you waited for me.”

“Don’t worry, I always want to know where you are.”

Neil glowered at him, “Why are you doing this? Do you honestly think I’m a threat to Kevin? What do you want from me?”

Andrew tilted his head a little, “I don’t want anything. The idea of slicing you open and seeing what comes out does interest me though.” He stepped closer to Neil, “And you’ll let me do that tomorrow. Now, sleep tight little rabbit.” With that Andrew started to walk back down the way that Neil had come from.

Neil didn’t want to know why Andrew decided to stay out of bed. He had had enough of the man. Instead he let himself into the chambers and went to his room, praying the night with Andrew would go quickly. Something told him tomorrow night was going to be unenjoyable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah my life has been a mess and so I'm not to sure about this chapter. I think I kind of hate it but that's how it is this time. Anyway hoping that next chapter won't take as long and that I won't get writer's block again. As always please let me know if you notice any mistakes.
> 
> Next time: Columbia 
> 
> P.s. I tried to make Matt's family to seem more New Money than Allison's by having his making their money in industry while hers is in land.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil goes on an adventure.

Neil looked at his reflection in the water basin. Icy eyes stared back at him. Neil turned to the mirror which hung in the apartment’s bathroom. He thought he looked slightly nervous but hoped the others wouldn’t notice that.

Andrew had given him some clothes to wear tonight. He had walked up to him after Neil’s and Kevin’s daily sparing match. It was anyone’s guess as to how Andrew had found the time to go shopping.

“Thank you?” Neil had said, when the clothes had got thrust at him.

“No,” Andrew had responded, “The pleasure is all mine.”

Looking at the clothes now, Neil could see why. It was humiliating to wear such tight clothes. It reminded him of the outfits he was sometimes made to wear when acting. Although, he had to admit that Andrew’s choice of black instead of bright colours was a nice touch. Also the cotton of the shirt was also a nice change, with it being much softer than the fabric he usually brought.

Neil looked at himself. At the tight cotton top. At the leather pants.

He didn’t look himself.

He looked noticeable. He looked like someone who wanted to get noticed.

He couldn’t image what his mother would say if she saw him. If she’d even recognise him. It was probably best that she wasn’t here for this.

Neil closed his eyes for a second, took a deep breathe, then opened the bathroom door.

“Neil,” Nicky called to him, drawing out his name to a long, ‘Neeeaaalll’. “Someone’s looking handsome tonight. Where’ve you been hiding that outfit?”

Neil decided to ignore the question and instead sit at the main table with Aaron.

“Where’re Andrew and Kevin?”

“Kevin’s probably calling for our coach,” said Nicky, sitting next to Aaron, opposite Neil. “You ever been out in Columbia, Neil? With the actors? Bet actors know how to have fun. You must have got into such adventures with your friends there.”

“There wasn’t much time for adventures in between shows.”

Nicky frowned. “But surely you went out sometimes.”

“Neil doesn’t seem the type for going out,” came Aaron voice, looking bored. Neil wondered why he even had decided to come. He wasn’t looking excited at all.

_At least I’ll be in good company,_ Neil thought bitterly.

“Come on, Aaron, you’re just jealous that Kaitlyn’s not allowed to come, and besides, what’s not to like about going out?” Nicky questioned the group at large, but both Aaron and Neil were saved from answering by a loud bang as the entrance door swung open.

Andrew stood at the door. He was wearing a black tricorne on his head and a dark brown leather coat that went down to past his knees and covered much of his clothes. His feet were covered by the same black boots that he wore when they went out sparring, Neil wondered if he polished them himself, or if he got a servant to do it.

“Kevin’s ready,” Andrew said simply to the group at large. He then turned and walked out of the room, evidently assuming that the rest would follow him.

Neil sighed and got to his feet.

_This is going to be a long night_ , he thought to himself, as he kept to the back of the group.

* * *

Neil laughed when he saw the boat that they were riding in to get to the island of Columbia. They had just gotten out of Kevin’s carriage, Neil noticing they had stopped at a less used part of the harbour. He was surprised that they weren’t taking one of the ferries to Columbia, but then realised that Andrew and Kevin probably thought of themselves as above public transport. He had then assumed that the group would head to Columbia in a boat as ostentatious as the carriage, but instead they walked towards a small wooden boat that appeared to be manned by only a thin middle-aged man.

Kevin nodded at the man, who held out a hand for him to take as he got onto the small boat. Neil was surprised Kevin wasn’t complaining about the boat, but he instead simply sat on one of the edges and waited for the rest of the group to get in.

“It’s a dingy,” he said looking at the rest of the group as they took the helped offered and started to fill up the small boat.

“Yes?” said Andrew, who had clambered to the front of the boat. He had ignored the attendance’s hand and instead jumped quickly onto the boat, while Kevin had scowled at him, clearly annoyed by the rocking caused by his landing.

“Well, it’s not very fitting blue bloods is it.”

Andrew laughed at that, a crisp bark against the quiet night. “We decided to slum it with you for the night, didn’t we?”

Neil frowned, and scrambled onto the boat, sitting closer to the attendant than any of the others. The boat jostled as the attendant unhooked it from the harbour and started to row them to Columbia. Neil wondered briefly if they would have to take turns rowing to give the poor guy a break but thought that the man would probably take any offer for help as an insult.

Truth be told, boats made Neil a little nauseous. Not that he would ever tell anyone that. Certainly not anyone here. But looking out at the darkness ahead of them, Columbia a bunch of yellow dots in the distance, Neil wished he was anywhere else.

He hated the spray of salt water, the rocking of the boat, the sound the oars made as they were lifted out of the ocean. Most of all, Neil hated the company he was forced to be with.

_I’m sorry, Mother, you were right about fighting, about royalty, about wanting things._

Nicky looked to Neil, then at Andrew, then frowned and said, “Are you alright Neil? You don’t look too good.”

Neil ignored him and instead turned to Andrew.

“You still haven’t told me where we’re going.”

“Sweeties. You know it?” Andrew asked. Neil shook his head, surprised he’d gotten a direct answer. “Well get food there and then head to Eden’s.”

Neil didn’t think he even wanted to know what ‘Eden’s’ was. Instead, he schooled a neutral expression and looked out at the waves slowly moving across the sea.

* * *

It turned out that ‘Sweetie’s’ was not in fact, near the shores of Columbia, but instead a good walk in. Kevin led the way, with Andrew falling into step next to Neil just behind him. Neil assumed that the others were behind them but was too worried to look in case he lost sight of Kevin.

Columbia was not the sort of place you wanted to get lost.

Neil remembered how some of the other actors used to talk about the place. About how busy it was. About all the strange people you’d find. About the money you could make.

_As Palmetto sleeps, Columbia awakens._

What Neil wasn’t ready for was the smell of the place. Every alley they paced stunk of piss. Every corner littered with left over food and rats clambering for a bite. Every person smelling of sweat. In all honesty, Neil didn’t see the appeal. He’d been to plenty of cities and Columbia had to be the dirtiest.

“What do you think?” Kevin said, stopping beside a terrace building and turning to look at Neil.

Neil frowned.

“Do you want my honest opinion?”, he asked. The building was smaller than the others around it, with the entrance dirtier than any of the other café’s they had walked past. Neil wondered why the others were so set on this place in particular.

Nicky laughed from behind Neil and then pushed past them. Neil hurried to follow him inside.

Neil was surprised by how clean the inside of the café was, with the floor being relatively dirt free and there being no signs of rats inside. Nicky led the group to a small table in the corner and only one of the chairs had liquid spilt on it.

“Wha’ you wan’”, said a young waitress to the group at large. Andrew sat down just as she arrived, passing something to the girl as he did. If Neil was less bored of the other man’s antiques, he might have questioned him on it.

Instead, Neil let the others order, not feeling particularly hunger after seeing the state of the street outside. Once the waitress left, Aaron and Kevin turned to each other, having a hushed discussion across the table from Neil and Nicky.

“You not hungry?” Nicky asked turning to Neil and leaning closer. “You should try the cakes they have here, they’re fresh and everything.”

“No, thank you,” responded Neil. “I’m not hungry.”

“Eat.” Andrew said sternly.

“No.”

Nicky frowned. “Neil, I really think-“

“Is this what you do for fun then? Come to Columbia, walk through all the piss and rats and shit, just to come eat cake. Is that how you get your kicks?” Neil said, meeting Andrew’s eyes and staring him down.

Andrew only stared back at him, slouching slightly in his chair.

“Here you go,” said the waitress, returning with three plates of an assortment of cakes. “And here’s the rest.” She pulled a small bag out of her pocket, leaving it in the middle of the table.

“What’s that?” Neil asked.

“I’ll tell you if you have a slice of cake.” Andrew responded. He picked up the small bag and inspected it for a second, before drawing out a small vial inside it.

Neil scoffed, “I know it’s drugs, I’m just wondering what it does?”

Andrew leaned forward, “Do you really want to know?”

Nicky laughed, “Relax Neil. It won’t kill you. It’ll make the night a lot more fun.”

“It doesn’t matter, I don’t want any.”

“Have some. It’ll do you good,” Kevin told Neil.

“No.”

“Is that your favourite word tonight? No?” Aaron muttered. Neil only frowned further.

They left the café not long after that. Andrew kept a hold of the small bottle, playing with it in his hand as they walked into a quieter part of town. Neil watched him as he did, turning the vial around and around in his hand. Clutching it until his fists went white. Then chucking it in the air only to catch it.

After a short walk they turned into a small alley way which led onto a large square, filled with people. There were groups huddled around three large stalls which appeared to be selling fried food. On either side of the square groups spilled out from bars, Kevin led them to the one on the left.

The cousins then took the lead and nodded to the men standing on the outside. Neil was down up a small flight of stairs and into a large room. There was a bar on one side and a stage on the other. A girl in a low-cut dress was singing to the room at large, with people all around dancing to the music.

The group ignored this and instead went to an enclosed table in the corner. Andrew gave Neil a look that said, ‘stay here’ and then left to get the group a drink.

“Eden’s nice, isn’t it,” said Nicky.

Neil looked around. It seemed cleaner than Sweeties, although that could be because the place seemed newer. The floorboards looked solid and the painting of the walls hadn’t seen any wear. The place was also filled with people. Both men and women littered the place, smoking cigars and drinking all sorts. The noise they were making almost drowned out the singer, but she stubbornly outmatched their pitch by belting out the lyrics to a love song. Something about a long-lost sailor who had left her.

“It’s okay,” Neil responded after a while.

Nicky smiled back at him.

Neil turned to Kevin. “Are you going to tell me why I’m here?”

“You’re here because Andrew doesn’t trust you.”

Neil laughed. “Really? Wouldn’t have guessed.”

Kevin sighed and turned to him. “He thinks you’re a Hagishu spy.”

“I’m a what?”

“He thinks that Riko made you come here, that you-“

Kevin fell silent when Andrew, quite suddenly, slammed the tray of drinks down on the table.

“Hey!” Aaron shouted as one of the glasses nearly spilt on him, but Andrew ignored him, instead staring at Kevin.

“You’ve been spilling secrets.”

“He’s been telling me what you refused to.” Neil could feel himself getting angry.

Andrew turned to him now and placed a small glass in front of him.

“Drink up.” He said simply.

Neil stood up. “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll get my own drink.” With that he left the group and made his way to the bar. It took him a while to push past the groups of people and get the bartenders attention, but he finally managed.

“You here with Andrew?” The bartender asked, when Neil tried to order a glass of beer. He had a south Vinaly accent, Neil noted.

“What does it matter?”

The bartender shrugged, then looked over Neil’s head back at Andrew’s table.

“Just making conversation.”

“Can you just give me your weakest beer?”

“’Course.”

The bartender turned his back to him as he poured an orange looking liquid into Neil’s glass then turned back to him.

“On the house. Since you’re with friends of mine.”

Neil had taken the little money he had with him but was greatly to not have to spend it.

“Thanks.” He muttered as he left. He sipped on the beer as he pushed past the groups of people. It tasted cheap and horrible, like the sort which Neil used to have after work, but he trusted the beer here more than he did the water and Neil wasn’t looking to get sick.

Andrew was the only one left at the table when he returned. When Neil tried to sit opposite the man, Andrew got up and sat next to him, smiling up at the taller man.

“Maybe our little rabbit will do some tricks for us tonight.”

Neil stared at him, “Like I’ve said before, the only trick I know is acting.”

Andrew laughed at that, “I would hardly call your acting skills a trick.” Andrew leaned forward until there was only a couple of inches in between his and Neil’s heads. “You want to know what other tricks I think you have?”

Neil took another sip of his drink and looked back at Andrew. “Go on then. I want to know what delusional ideas you’ve got in your head.”

“Ever heard of Riko Moriyama?”

Of course, Neil had. He’d even met him when he was younger. Andrew had even heard Neil and Kevin talking about Riko.

“I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

“Now I know you’re lying,” Andrew said, downing his glass of whiskey and picking up another. Neil wondered how much he was planning to drink tonight. If Andrew would be the sort of person who starts fights when he gets drunk.

Probably.

“The Moriyama’s are the head of Hagishu empire. Kevin grew up in Hagishu but jumped ship to Vinaly. Now some actor comes along with a Kout accent, a Yogoto face and knows about Lobain trade, but he says he has no idea about Hagishu politics. Tell me Neil, what would you do to this actor if you were in my position?”

Neil finished off his beer then turned fully to Andrew. “Well, Andrew, if I was in you’re position I would stop worrying about the men that Kevin pulls off the street and start being concerned with the aristocracy who don’t like any of your little gang.”

“You miss understand rabbit. I wasn’t asking whether I should worry about you or not. I was asking whether gut you right here or wait till the drugs set it.”

Neil stared at him for a second, then looked down at his drink. A part of him felt like laughing.

“There was drugs in the beer.”

“There was drugs in the beer.” Andrew confirmed.

Neil closed his eyes for a second. He watched his breathing. In, out. In, out. Focus.

“It’ll hit you soon. Those things are quick working. I wonder if you’re so tight lipped when you’re out of your mind.”

Neil took a deep breath, opened his eyes and turned to Andrew. He stared right into his hazel eyes, he felt the power surge up inside him, his mother’s echoes to stop it. He ignored all of this and said:

“That’s enough, Andrew. I want you to get out of my way. I want you to never speak to me again. I want you to completely ignore me. Most of all, I want you to grab all of you’re friends and get me the fuck out of here.”

Andrew blinked at him and a look of shock passing past his face. Then he leaned in.

“Now, why would I do any of that.”

Neil needed to get out of here. He sprinted away from the other man. He didn’t know why his powers weren’t working but there was a throbbing in his head that wouldn’t quit. He needed to go somewhere.

Instead, he was dragged onto the dancefloor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...  
> I've been gone for a while, but I'm back! I think. I will try to post again soon.   
> I don't really like giving up so stuff.
> 
> Anyway let me know if you see any mistakes or have any criticisms or anything really. I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter, but I kind of just had to push through it.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if there’s any errors. I don’t have a beta and my dyslexia makes reading soooo hard.


End file.
